How to Answer: Have you ever had difficulty with a supervisor?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for an Auditor job interview.
22. Have you ever had difficulty with a supervisor?
How to Answer
Audits are stressful. There's no way around that. If you've ever worked on an audit, there was likely a time when you and everyone around you felt pressured by the deadline and outlining the data to be easily understood. Supervisors are people too, and they feel the pressure from above them, so if a supervisor is difficult, it may help to put yourself in their shoes.
Think of a supervisor you've had or a teacher who was difficult to deal with. How did you handle it? Was it an appropriate way to handle the situation? You never want to give an example of that's going to make you look bad. Hopefully, you've risen above a situation where someone has been difficult.
Written by Samantha Hamilton on January 25th, 2019
Entry Level
"I had a teacher who didn't like jocks. I was on the football team, the soccer team, and the track and field team, so I was covered in jock. He'd hold tests on days when we had games or meets and refused to let us make up the tests until we went to the principal. The principal helped us because we had no power in that situation, but the teacher's attitude didn't change until one day I saw him outside of school. He came to where I worked at a local pizza place and gave me attitude. I calmly told him that I held no ill will toward him because it was obvious he had an issue with jocks in his life. I asked him if he wanted to get to know me as a person to see that I was a good kid who just liked playing sports. I never bullied anyone and had always treated others with respect and dignity because I was raised right. He changed his attitude after that and started to reach out more to the students."
Written by Samantha Hamilton on January 25th, 2019
Answer Example
"I had a Manager who was rude to everyone. She would lay down what she thought was right and if you disagreed with her, you became the enemy and your schedule reflected it. I once suggested an improvement to scheduling to her and the general manager. While they considered it, my schedule went from day shifts to night shifts and double shifts for the next two weeks. I showed up to every shift with a smile and worked my butt off. My general manager noticed and assigned me as the restaurant's schedule maker. I still worked double shifts when necessary, but I tried to be as fair as possible."
Written by Samantha Hamilton on January 25th, 2019
Experienced
"Yes, I had a manager who made everyone's life hard. We used to look in the parking lot for their car to know if it was going to be a good day or a bad day. I worked with well with them and was actually one of their favorite employees because I did my job and conformed to their standards to ensure I avoided conflict."
Written by Samantha Hamilton on January 25th, 2019